GriBBsY's Beginner's
Guide To

How The Game Works

For this
article I'm going to cover the basics of a 'Capture The Flag' game.
Most of the UK servers are running CTF right now, so that's all I've
had to practice on. Most of the strategies here are useful for the other
game types as well. Anybody who's played Quake or Quake 2 CTF will be
familiar with the scenario. Two teams, each with their own base. Each
team has a flag positioned somewhere within their base. The objective
is to penetrate the enemy base, collect their flag, then return it home
and touch it with your own team's flag. Here endeth the similarity with
Quake CTF.

In Tribes,
a lone player has absolutely no chance of getting in and out of an enemy
base on their own. Good teamwork is the order of the day. A strong attacking
force is useless without a good defence. A fast lightly armoured attack
force has very little chance againsta well defended base. With the right
combination of defence, attack and the various types of armours your
team will stand a chance. There's no place for the lone hero in this
game.

Your First Game
Online

Fire up
your internet connection, and start up the game. If you fancy a chat
with some other players first, then Tribes has it's own IRC client.
Here you can arrange games and ask questions. Most people will be happy
to help you out. This is a far better place to discuss tactics than
on a server during a game.

UK and
Australian players should ensure they have selected their respective
master server under Network Options. That way you'll only be refreshing
the servers local to you (and not 500 servers in the US that you'll
never use).

To connect
to a server select 'Join Multiplayer'. You'll then be presented with
a list of servers to choose from. Pick a server with the low ping that
has room for another player. Then click 'Join'. All things being well
and the game will load up. Depending on how the server is set up, you
will either be automatically assigned a team or allowed to choose. Beware
that if you are assigned a team automatically, you still have the opportunity
to change teams. If you then go on to decide to choose a team the server
will display a message to other players that you have swapped teams
- get ready for a flaming (it happened to me once). The rule is: let
the server decide and don't change it. If for any reason you want to
change teams later on (usually if the teams are unfair), you can do
so by hitting the 'Tab' key. This screen also acts as a scoreboard and
gives you the option to vote in certain circumstances (changing map,
kicking players etc).

Now your
in the game it's time to get acclimatised. With any luck you'll be on
a map that you've already played on your own. If not, then you've got
some learning to do. Hitting the 'C' button brings up an overhead map
of the level. Try and work out where the key items are on the map -
flags, inventory stations, power etc. Use the 'Z' key to zoom in if
necessary. Go back to first person perspective (press 'C' again) and
have a look around. Use the compass in the top right to get your bearings.
Next thing is to try and work out what your team's strategy is (if any).
On a public server it's unlikely that anyone will try and command your
team (would you want to look at a 2d map after lashing out all that
cash on a Voodoo 2 powered PC?), so you'll probably have to decide your
own strategy from what others are doing around you.

For your
first few games it's best to play in a defensive role. This way you
can learn the maps, the weapons and hopefully you'll die less. To play
attack you have to know the maps. For the time being, leave that to
somebody who knows what they're doing.